Senior English Students Battle Sun, View Hamlet

Story by Justin Phillips

    In early October, students in the senior english classes took their annual trip to the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin to attend the Shakespeare classic, Hamlet. Seniors have been reading Hamlet in class, so understanding the plot and characters came easily.  The trip lasted for the entirety of the school day, influencing many students ability to take this opportunity, but miss all of their classes. Mr. Freitag, the senior English teacher, advertised the class trip to students by inviting actor David Daniel from the play to visit classes a day prior to the performance. Mr. Daniel, who played Polonius, a main character in Hamlet, used a couple different acting techniques to entice student interest by touching on relatable subjects such as ADD and “the hallway of crap that is high school.” He also used students to demonstrate the meaning behind Shakespeare’s extensive wording with humor and playful humiliation.

     The actual trip to this outdoor theatre took place on a particularly sunny and warm day for October. Although there was shade surrounding the stage and actors, the majority of students had waterlogged shirts by intermission. Even after Ben Hasker (‘14) had “cowardly” applied sunscreen preceding the show, he was noticeably sunburned and perspiring.

     The acting was exceptionally well done. The entire cast was exuberant in manner, and the lead, Hamlet, in particular was very animated and possessed the insanity needed to portray an allegedly crazy man. Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest, was also very convincing with her delirious singing and disheveled looks.

     Overall, the senior expedition was a pleasing experience and enjoyed by even those who did not particularly care for reading Hamlet in hardcopy form. “The costumes were very realistic, and the accents were great. I almost felt like I was actually there, in England!” exclaimed Maddie Kieler (‘14). So just wait, juniors–next year, you too might take the trip of a lifetime without ever having to leave your seat.